


Oct. 31st, “Scared, Me?”

by Morpheus626



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:55:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25042771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morpheus626/pseuds/Morpheus626
Summary: Title is that day's prompt from Fictober 2019. A fic about Duckingham Palace, the boys, and an intruder who really should have just stayed home.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Oct. 31st, “Scared, Me?”

“Scared, me? Not at all!” his voice echoed through the dark and silent house.

“I think we should be, maybe,” Roger whispered from the nearby closet, where he was huddled with Brian and John. 

“All this supposed intruder has done so far is turned out the lights. We’ve navigated this house drunker than a skunk with the lights out. This isn’t an obstacle,” Freddie replied, picking up his coffee cup from the end table near the couch he was sat on. 

“Freddie, I’ve tried calling the security desk, and they aren’t answering. Please, get in here until I can get them to respond,” Brian added, the poof of his curls the only thing visible from where he was crouched at the back of the closet. 

“This is all very silly; we’re going to be fine. Come out of there!” Freddie scolded playfully. “Besides, you know what all of us in there at once means?” 

“That this closet is too small for all of us?” John asked, peeking out around Roger.

“That this supposed scary killer or whoever you’re all so terribly afraid of can easily kill all of us at once,” Freddie continued. “Apart, one of us might just survive to write an album about the experience.” 

“That isn’t funny,” Brian replied. “Get in here; I can hear footsteps!” 

“Poor thing, look what years of rock music have done to your ears. Hearing things now!” Freddie sighed.

Roger pushed the other two back further into the closet as he dove back in, while a dark figure crept into the room.

Freddie turned his head, eyes straining to see in the dark. “Oh, what is this shit?” 

The figure stopped creeping and stood up straight, turning it’s mask-covered face to look at Freddie. “Excuse me?” 

“You fucking heard me. With a black robe and the stalking about. What the fuck is that?” 

“I-I’m the terror…” 

“You’re shit,” Freddie scoffed. “Come on out and see what you’re all so afraid of! Say hello!” 

“No! Stay put! Fear me!” the figure commanded.

“…no, I don’t think we will,” Roger said, leading the way out of the closet. 

“Yeah. Nice try, but…well, seeing you in person…no,” John said, shaking his head as he joined Freddie on the couch. 

“I could kill you all!” the figure shouted as it pulled out a knife from some pocket of its robe. 

Freddie set down his cup, sighed, and walked up to the figure. “With just the one knife?” 

The figure looked down at the knife. “Y…yeah?”

Freddie smirked. “You’re killing Queen, or trying to, right? I should hope you’d know that we go out in style, not all with the same filthy knife.” 

The rest of the guys giggled as they settled into their chosen seats, any panic evaporated. Freddie was in full performance mode now, and the intruder hardly stood a chance if just this bit was shaking him.

“You…you can’t make demands when you’re about to be murdered!” the intruder stamped his foot. 

“Fuck off,” Freddie laughed and went back to the couch, dropping back beside John as if it were any other night in Duckingham Palace. 

The intruder stood, staring as they all got properly comfortable, as if nothing had happened, the lights were still on, and all was normal. 

“You may as well sit down and take off that mask. Make it easier for the guards when they get here,” Freddie said. “Brian, have they answered?” 

Brian was back at the nearest telephone, and dialed the number yet again, but shook his head after a moment. “Still not picking up.” 

“The line isn’t dead, they are,” the intruder spat. “How else do you think I got this far, this close to you? Don’t you get it yet, you spoiled fucking rock-”

The punch Freddie threw, up from the couch and in front of the intruder in the blink of an eye, in a boxing stance like it was second nature, laid the intruder out flat on the carpet. 

“Haven’t done that in awhile,” Freddie mused as he dropped back to the couch. “Brian, call the police, will you?” 

“Already done,” Brian replied, looking slightly pale at the sight of the splayed out intruder. “Should we check on him? Roger, you go do it.” 

“Why me? I’m not any better equipped to do that than you, you go do it!” Roger protested. 

“Well…you were going to be a dentist!” Brian protested right back. “That’s the closest to a doctor we’ve got right now!” 

“Ah yes, and we all recall the many dentists that populate and care for emergent patients in every emergency room around the world. No actual doctors, because ‘a dentist is close enough’!” 

“Stop arguing, and just look! I mean, I don’t exactly want him up and raring to kill us, but if he’s hurt-” Brian insisted.

“I’m just gonna go see about getting the lights back on,” John interjected quickly, moving from the couch and around the body in search of the circuit breaker panel.

“You are technically Dr. Brian May, or will be once you’ve got your studies done! You look at him!” Roger shouted. 

“I will be a doctor of space-related things, like space dust and cosmic bodies, not the human body!” Brian shouted right back. 

“You really ought to just get up,” Freddie said to the body, which had been occasionally twitching with the apparent effort of trying to pretend to be knocked out.

The intruder stayed silent, and kicked a leg out at him. 

“That’s just childish,” Freddie chided.

“This was my claim-” the intruder started.

“Claim to what?” Freddie interrupted. “Claim to sick and twisted fame? All you’ve done is hurt people, good people. How will the families of those guards feel, what horrible pain. All because of you.” 

“I-”

“How dare you even deign to try and be proud of or defend what you did and tried to do here. You deserve whatever pain comes your way as a result of your actions here,” Freddie said coldly. “And the universe will see to it, I’m sure. You disgust me.” 

Brian and Roger had stopped arguing, listening and watching as Freddie glared down at the intruder. 

“I…I’m so-” the intruder was difficult to hear, so quiet and broken his voice was now. 

“Don’t even dare. An apology does nothing, means nothing. Not to me, and not to our dead security guards and their families,” Freddie interrupted brusquely. “Better you had found that conscience and caring long before you killed anyone, but fat lot of good it does for anyone now.”

The intruder sat up and stared at the floor, his knife forgotten where it had fallen. “That punch hurt really badly, you know.” 

Brian and Roger shared a glance. Of all the stupid shit to say…

“I’m not a man for violence, but you say one more fucking word and I won’t hesitate to lay you out again. You think that first punch hurt? I wasn’t even putting any effort into it,” Freddie said, terrifyingly calm as he sipped at his cold coffee, staring the intruder down as if he might just use his gaze to destroy the man. 

The lights blinked back on, and John returned just as sirens started to near. 

It was all waiting and watching then as police and procedure took over. The intruder was silent the entire time, even as they gave their statements, only nodding or shaking his head in response to any questions from the officers. Finally, he was taken out of the house and away to a waiting police car. 

The officers assured them the house was clear and safe, and that a few officers would remain on watch on the property so they could go to sleep without worry. 

But none of them moved from the living room. 

“Thank god the family and friends hadn’t joined us out here yet,” John finally said, breaking the silence that had enveloped them once the police had all gone. 

Brian nodded. “Never been so glad the family is back at home.” 

“Still can’t believe you wanted me to check him over,” Roger scoffed softly, no venom or ill-intent in his voice. 

“You know I would have helped you,” Brian replied. “And we only would have had to check him if he wasn’t getting up, and in the moment it seemed Freddie had really done him in…” 

“I know,” Roger said, and the silence fell over them again.

“It’s funny, in a terrible way,” Freddie broke the silence softly. “Whole thing has me too damn nervous to sleep now.” 

The resulting gentle laughter was a relief to them all, as much as the pack of cigarettes that was opened and passed around with shaking hands from all.

“Only nervous now that the killer’s gone?” Roger smiled weakly. “Bloody hell, Freddie.” 

“That was a hell of a hit you gave him,” Brian laughed. “Dropped like a stone, my god.” 

“Stop,” Freddie shushed them with a wave of his hand. 

“No, it was amazing! I mean, you said you weren’t really thinking about it, weren’t putting effort into it, but he went down! I can’t imagine if you’d been really trying to put him down,” Brian said. “And even after, keeping him down with words!” 

Roger nodded. “Artfully done.” 

John sighed. “Suppose we may as well stay up a bit longer, out here together. I mean, if we can’t sleep, maybe we can work.”

No more was said of sleep after that, the adrenaline of the night’s events still lingering. It didn’t matter if any of the resulting songs from the late-night session would be good, or right for the album. It was simply enough to be awake and in the safety of one another’s company. 


End file.
